Boston, MA - The Furniture Trust, a nonprofit committed to responsible reuse of unwanted office furniture, held its annual, signature event, the Eco-Carpentry Challenge, designed to promote resourcefulness and upcycling while providing students critical skills. Used office furniture donated by local businesses was delivered to nine high schools where students had five months to use teamwork, imagination, and carpentry skills to transform these materials into new products, later donated back into the community.

 

At the Challenge, held May 10th at District Hall in Boston, students networked with industry professionals and peer schools as they showcased their up-cycled innovations to a panel of judges, providing additional details on contending projects and what they learned from the experience. 

 

The nine participating schools of the 2018 Eco-Carpentry Challenge includes 155 students from: Bedford High School, East Bridgewater Jr/Sr High School, Essex Technical High School (Danvers), Hopedale High School, Just a Start Youthbuild (Cambridge), Madison Park Technical Vocational High School (Boston Public Schools), Nashoba Valley Technical High School (Westford), Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School (Haverhill), and Worcester Alternative School.

 

The Furniture Trust assigned each team a mentor from the architecture, construction, project management, facilities, and furniture industries to provide guidance and technical expertise throughout the design and construction of their projects: Mike Bogdan and Shirley Ng, Fort Point Project Management; Joe DeVeau, Maggie Opolski, Patty Gallagher, and Brian Leahy, Officeworks; Brittany Page, Margulies Perruzzi Architects; Shannon Ponce, Ai3 Architects; Jared Crowley and Neil Swain, Columbia Construction; Brian Duffley, Lauren Perich, and Katrina Eliadis, Nelson; Alexandra Dupnik, Dyer Brown; Ryan Eisenhauer, DPS Engineering; Dave Guerino and Bill Olson, Wise Construction; Tyler Lombardi, Dave Madison, and Kait McKenna, CBT Architects; and Tom Murphy, Amundi Pioneer.

 

After thoughtful deliberation, the panel of judges comprised of industry professionals – Shaun Lover, Columbia Construction; Stephen Bertolami, Liberty Mutual Insurance; Dan Perruzzi, AIA, LEED AP, Margulies Perruzzi Architects; and Brandon Needleman, Avison Young – announced the 2018 Eco-Carpentry Challenge winners:

• Runner Up: Hopedale HS – $1,000 prize

• 1st Place, Small Shop: Worcester Alternative School – $2,000 prize

• 1st Place, Large Shop: Nashoba Valley Technical High School – $2,000 prize

• People’s Choice: Madison Park Technical Vocational HS (second year in a row!)

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Sponsors of the 2018 Eco-Carpentry Challenge include:

• Gold sponsors: Fort Point Project Management and Pinnacle Office Solutions

• Silver sponsors: ABC Moving Services, Ability to Dream & Design, Agero, Columbia Construction Company, Commodore Builders, Haworth, Margulies Perruzzi Architects, Mark Richey Woodworking, The New England Real Estate Journal, Office Resources, Red Thread, Strategic Spaces, Peabody Office, Structuretone, Unispace, and Wise Construction

• Bronze sponsors: American, Boston Art, B-Graphic, District Hall, IOP, and Office Works

• Green Circle Sponsors: Ai3 Architects, Amundi Pioneer, CBT Architects, DPS, Dyer Brown, Gensler, Nelson, R.W. Sullivan Engineering, William B. Meyer, and Wilson & Gould